Process of producing imitation carvings in wood.



Patented Sept. 5, I899.

J. H. WEISS,

PROCESS OF PRODUCING IIIITATION OABVINGS IN WOOD.

A lication filed Nov. 2 1897. Benowodl'b. e 1899.

w Omv'emo w JULBU' H OM55 WITNESES! M I\MA W HQOE C? BY Awlfif WM ATTOREY U ED. STATES PATENT O FICE.

JULIUS H. WEISS, OF PARIS, FRANCE, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TOTHE WILLNER WVOOD COMPANY, OF NEW JERSEY.

PROCESS OF PRODUCING IMITATION CARVINGS lN wooo'.

SPECIFICATION forming part a Letters ere No. 632,433, dated September 5,1899. A plication fiieireeember 2, 189% Renewed February 6, 1899. SerialNo. 704,737. (No specimensl) To all whmn it may concern:

Be it known that I, JULIUS HNVEISS, a subject of the Emperor of Germany,and a resident of No. 20 Rue Taitbout, Paris, France,

have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Processes ofProducing Imitation Carvings in Wood, of which the following is a full,clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled in theart to which [0 it appertains to make and use the same, reference beinghad-to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of referencethereon,which form a part of this specification.

My invention has for its object to provide a novel process of producingimitation carvings in solid or veneeredblocks of -woodsuch as are usedin wain'scoting, cabinet-makposed surface a condition of excessivehard-' ness, and then subject-ingit to the action of a die or diesbearing a design, under'proper o pressure, whereby an ornamentation ofthe surface of the wood is produced in perfect imitation ofhand-carving.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel process forproducing imitation 5 carvings in wood by subjecting the surface of thewood to the action'of arnixture' of the nature above set forth and inaddition thereto exposing the surface of thewood to the action of anorganic substance to'render'that 4o portion of the wood at and near thesurface both resistible or tenacious to pressure and non-hygroscopic andsubjecting it to the action of a die or dies bearing a design underpressure, whereby the ornamentation of the surface of the wood isproducedin perfect'imitation of hand-carving.

Finally, another object of the invention is to produce a block, slab, orpiece of wood which has been treated in the above manner 0 to produce anew article of manufacture.

The invention therefore consists in a block,

slab, or piece of wood of the nature herein set forth; and, furthermore,the invention consists in a novel process, the main features of whichreside in that the wood to be ornamented is rendered capable ofwithstanding vthe pressure to which it is subjected in raising anornamentation thereon-that is, the wood having been treated at or nearits surface in themanner stated practically forms,

with the material employed, a surface of a tenacious nature in which thefiber of the wood is embedded and forms an integral part therewith, andit will not become torn or dis torted when subjected to the pressureunder the die or dies.

-The invention consists, furthermore, in rendering the surface of thewood, in addition to this resistible feature of the surface to pres- 1sure, waterproof to render the wood incapable of warping when in theform of relatively thick sheets or slabs.

The invention also consists in a process of producing imitation carvingsin wood, in veneerin g the wood, and after treating the wood 7 5 asabove stated subjecting the combined ma- ;terial to the action of a dieor dies.

' In' the accompanying sheet of drawings I have'illustrated thedifferent steps of my novel process, as well'as the completed article ofmanufacture.

In said drawings, Figure 1 is a sectional view of a block or slab ofwood in its normal condition. Fig. 2 is a similar view of the block orslab, illustrating the surface of the wood .afterit has been subjectedto the herein-described treatment torender it tenacious or resistible topressure; and 3 is a similar view of the wood after the solution hasbeen allowed to dry in the surface of the wood.

Fig. 4: is a sectional view of the block or slab preferably exposed todry heat, such as hot air or dry steam, at a temperature of about 20Raumur for a length of time varying between, say, one and several days,according to the greater or less degree of dampness or moisture of theWood. Such drying operation may be performed either on the mass of rawwood before it is cut up or upon each individual piece or slab cut fromsaid mass. When dry, the wood is placed in a mixture the ingredients ofwhich are of a mineral or inorganic species, and then boiled therein forrendering the surface of the wood hard or tenacious and capable ofresisting pressure without danger of tearing or distorting the fiber ofthe wood at the surface when subjected to pressure from a die or dies.This mixture contains bichromate of potash in water and fine particlesof mica in suspension therein in the proper proportions, which willreadily penetrate the pores at the surface of the wood and practicallyform a surface Z) of a tenacious nature, as indicated in Fig. 2. Afterthe block or slab of wood has undergone this treatment for half an houror longer, depending on the kind of wood, the wood is dried by means ofhot air, dry steam, or in any other suitable manner, causing byevaporation a crystallization of the bichromate of potash with the fineparticles of mica interspersed and resulting in a crystallizedlikesurface 0, as indicated in Fig. 3, with the fibers of the woodthoroughly embedded therein and the whole forming one integral mass atthe exposed surface of the block or slab of a condition of excessivehardness, which can be readily and directly impressed with any desireddesign. The piece or block of wood so treated and prepared is nowdirectly subjected to the action of a die or dies, (one of which hasengraved into it the design which it is desired to impart in relief toone of the faces of the piece of wood,) the direct pressure beingapplied parallel to or along the grain of the wood or across the grain,as may be desired. This finished product is clearly illustrated in Fig.i of the drawings. If desired, the surface of the wood can be renderednon-hygroscopic by the addition of a substance of an organic species, asgelatin, which prevents any action of dampness and moisture of air uponthe wood and positively prevents the warping of the wood and especiallycompressed wood. The above-mentioned substances may be employed withadvantage in the following proportion-viz., loichromate of potash,twenty parts, by weight; mica, twenty-five parts, by weigh t, and water,fifty-five parts, by weight. These proportions are not, however,absolute. They may be Varied within reasonable limits according to thekind of wood used and the different impressions desired. hen it isintended to render the surface of the wood waterproof, I add, usually,ten parts of gelatin, by weight, varying the parts of the bichromate ofpotash and the water accordingly. The block or slab of wood when beingremoved from the press is then ready for use as it is for Wainscoting,cabinet-making, and decorating purposes generally, or it can bevarnished, shellacked or japanned in any suitable manner to suit tasteor special purposes. To attain a higher decorative efiect of thefinished piece of wood, I may apply to its embossed surface, either by abrush or by steeping, a solution of celluloid or equivalent substance ofany desired color, allowing the same to dry thereon.

. In the art of embossing wood by means of dies it has before myinvention been proposed to waterproof the piece or slab of Wood beforeembossing the same. To this end various substances have beenproposedsuch as glue, resins, or melted paraffin'and thesewater-repellents have been applied hot as well as cold. I have, however,found it to be im possible to obtain good results with any of thesesubstances for the reason that they are used in attenuated or thinsolutions. Otherwise the wood could not become saturated therewith. Butwhen used in attenuated solutions the wood is insufficiently protectedagainst the action of moisture. Furthermore, without the use of amixture of a mineral or inorganic species, as hereinabove set forth,which, when the wood is dried a second time, a proper pressure-resistingsurface will not be produced, and hence the fibers become torn anddistorted and an unfinished and rough ornamentation in the surface ofthe wood will be the result. A mixture of this nature is thereforeessential. I have found that the mixtures mentioned in the foregoingspecification have the property of readily penetrating into the pores orthe cells of the wood, whereby the fibers of the wood form a tenacioussubstance which can and does withstand the action of the embossing dieor dies with the best results. I am therefore fully aware thatwaterproofing the surface of the wood and then subjecting it to theaction of embossing-dies is not new per se, and this I do not claimbroadly; but I do claim that it is new to treat the surface of the woodbefore embossing to the action of a mixture of a mineral or inorganicspecies to render the surface of the wood tenacious or resistible topressure. I further claim that it is new to treat the surface of a pieceof wood to amixture of the nature just specified with the additionthereto of an organic substance, such as gelatin, to render the surfaceof the wood both resistible to pressure and non-hygroscopic.

Although in the foregoing specification I have stated that the designmay be pressed direct into the surface of the prepared piece of wooditself, it will be evident that the piece of wood, either before orafter the hereinabove-described treatment, may be provided with a woodor other suitable veneering, as d, (see Fig. 5,) which, with the mainbody or block of wood,is subjected at the same time to the action of thedie or dies, whereby both the treated surface I) of the block a as wellas the veneer d are suitably and properly embossed, as will be clearlyevident from an inspection of said Fig. 5.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. As a new articleof manufacture, a block, slab, or piece of wood, impregnated at or nearits surface with a mineral substance, the whole forming a block or slabor piece having a crystallized-like surface of a tenacious nature andexcessive hardness at the exposed surface, and an ornamentation in saidsurface in imitation of wood-carving, formed in said impregnated surfaceby the subsequent action of a die or dies, substantially as and for thepurposes set forth.

2. A process of producing imitation carvings in wood, consisting intaking a piece or slab of wood, in subjecting its surface to the actionof a mixture of amineral species having in suspension in said mixture amineral of a micaceous or similar nature, to render a portion of thewood at and near its surface tenacious and resistible to pressure, andthen subjecting the said treated surface to the action of a die,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

3. A process for producing imitation carvings in wood, consisting intaking a piece or slab of wood, in drying it, in subjecting its surfaceto the action of a mixture of a mineral species, having in suspension insaid mixture a mineral of a micaceous or similar nature, to render aportion of the wood at or near its surface tenacious and resistible topressure, then drying it again, and subjecting the said treated surfaceto the action of a die, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

4. A process for producing imitation carvings in wood, consisting intaking a piece or slab of Wood, in subjecting its surface to the actionof a mixture of a mineral species, having in suspension in said mixture,a mineral of a micaceous or similar nature, and a substance of anorganic species having Waterproofing properties, to render a portion ofthe wood at or near its surface tenacious and resistible to pressure andalso non-hygroscopic, and then subjecting the said treated surface tothe action of a die, substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

5. A process for producing imitation carv= ings in wood, consisting intaking a piece or slab of wood, in drying it, in subjecting its surfaceto the action of a mixture of a mineral species, havingin suspension insaid mixture, a mineral of a micaceous or similar nature and a substanceof an organic species, having waterproofing properties, to render aportion of the wood at and near its surface tenacious and resistible topressure and also non-hygro= scopic, then drying it again, and thensubjecting the said surface to the action of a die, substantially as andfor the purposes set forth.

6. In a process of preparing wood for orna mentation by means of dies,expelling the moisture from a piece or slab of such by heat, boilingsuch piece or slab in an aqueous mixture of bichromate of potash andmica about in the proportions set forth, drying such piece or slab andsubjecting the surface to be ornamented to the action of steam, andimmediately thereafter to the action of dies, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

7. In a process of preparing wood for ornamentation by means of dies,expelling the moisture from a piece or slab of such by heat, boilingsuch piece or slab in an aqueous mixture of bichromateof potash and micaabout in the proportions set forth, drying such piece or slab,subjecting the surface to be ornamented to the action of steam andimmediately thereafter to the action of dies, substantially as and forthe purposes set forth.

8. In a process of preparing Wood for ornamentation by means of dies,expelling the moisture from a piece or slab of such by heat, boilingsuch piece or slab in an aqueous mixture of bichromate of potash andmica about in the proportions set forth, drying such piece or slab,subjecting the surface to be ornamented to the action of steam andimmediately thereafter to the action of dies, and then impregnating orcoating the ornamented surface witha solution of celluloid,substantially as and for the purposes set forth.

In testimony that I claim the invention set forth above I have hereuntoset my hand this 21st day of October, 1897.

JULIUS H. WEISS.

Witnesses:

EDWARD P. MAOLEAN, J. S. ABERCROMBIE.

